A Critical Public Services Workforce bill is pending approval by Florida voters and if passed will provide an additional exemption for qualifying applicants and will take effect January 1, 2023.
This bill may provide an additional Homestead Exemption of up to $50,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $100,000 and up to $150,000. This applies to classroom teachers, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, child welfare services professionals, active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces, and members of the Florida National Guard.
If this bill takes effect, applicants must be an active Critical Public Service employee as of January 1 each year. This exemption does not apply to those who are working part-time, retired, or who are not in the explicit professions listed above. Proof of full-time employment in specified fields of work must be attached to the application and any other necessary information to verify eligibility for the exemption.
In addition, qualifying applicants must already have the original Homestead Exemption, can only legally obtain one exemption per family unit, and must apply for the exemption by March 1 each year. This additional exemption is not subject to auto-renewal and requires a verification process from our office each year.
“If this additional exemption is passed, we do not anticipate a major shift in our office processes as there are numerous exemptions available from our office that require a verification process each year due to them not being eligible for auto-renewal,” Property Appraiser, Ayesha Solomon said.
If approved this would be the first time an exemption of this nature has been put in place for Florida property owners who have maintained residency in the state.
“Our office strives to remain transparent about the parameters applicants would need to meet in order to actually obtain this additional exemption,” Solomon said. “It is important that voters are fully aware of these requirements to help ensure that they are well informed when placing their votes.”
For property owners who are interested in monitoring their residential property, our office has released a monitoring software service called Property Watch. Property owners can sign up for this service through our website. After this registration process, owners can expect this service to continuously monitor their property. The areas that will be monitored for changes include the owner’s name, the mailing address, any change in exemption or agricultural classification status, and splits and combines to parcels.
About the Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office
The Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office ensures that all taxable property in the county is assessed equitably and at its fair market value in accordance with Florida statutes. The Property Appraiser’s Office has two locations: 515 N. Main Street in Gainesville and 15010 NW 142nd Terrace in Alachua. For more information visit https://www.acpafl.org